What-if discussions ("If Hero A and Hero B were abducted by aliens and forced to perform depravities on each other..."),*

Essays about aspects not covered in canon ("Value of recreational drugs in the Firefly 'Verse"),

Misc other canon topics("Skirt length compared to hairstyles across the Trekkiverse")

While most fanfic could fit in here, this isn't a fic community; if a fic explores a specific aspect of canon, please post a link rather than the entire fic. These topics are also welcome at mind_over_meta, created for meta discussions all fandoms, especially those too small to support their own meta community.

Misc other fandom discussions ("How many fics are worth making an archive for?")

This one's kinda blurry; sorry about that. There's no distinct lines between it and the next category, but fortunately, both are welcome here, and you don't have to define an essay as one or the other.

Meta Meta: Discussion about metadiscussion, about our identity as fans (other than as "people who appreciate ____"), about how we relate to each other. These are farthest from canon; sometimes, canon is no longer directly relevant to the discussion.

Defining our terms ("Is it still slash if they're involved in canon?"),

Useful fan info ("Ratings systems used by various archives"),

Social issues ("Does writing canonistic fic promote the same bigotries that exist in canon?"),